CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

REAPER

After I turned us over on the couch and had her on top of me, she fell asleep. I watched her for a long time before I joined her. Bella’s warmth does that to me, frequently. She gives me peace unlike anything I’ve ever known. I wake to my phone ringing, and am immediately annoyed at whoever the fuck dares to interrupt my content state.

Grabbing it from my pocket, I groan when I see ‘Bones’ flash across the screen, as well as the time in the left corner. Fuck.

“Hey, asshole,” he says when I answer.

“What, dickhead?” I respond, and his annoyance clearly trumps mine.

“Where the fuck are you?” He growls angrily, as Bella stretches on top of me. I wrap my arm around her back so she can’t get up, because I need a few more minutes with her before everything turns to chaos.

“On my couch, with my dick inside my girl. Want a picture?”

I can hear him pacing, and I bite my lip to shut down the chuckle itching to get out.

“Are you coming or not?”

“Already did, but thanks for asking.”

“Nico,” he growls, and that’s confirmation that he’s truly pissed off.

“Athena is making dinner, and for some fucking reason, she cares if you’re here.”

“Alright, we’ll be there soon.”

My sister-in-law is my one soft spot, other than Bella. She went through fucking hell, not unlike myself, and she’s a goddamn warrior. I like strong women, and she’s made of steel. Bones knows damn well I’d never let her down.

I disconnect the call and smack Bella’s ass.

“We need to go, before my brother loses what’s left of his small mind.”

She bites my neck hard.

“Ow! What the fuck?”

She climbs off me and giggles.

“Smack my ass, and I’ll give it right back to you.”

“Do you not like it?”

With a sassy little smirk, she says, “Very much, but I also like biting you.”

This woman. I get up and fix my pants, grabbing my t-shirt and putting it back on while Bella smoothes out her skirt, takes her hair down, and puts it back up. I don’t know how she does it, but she makes a fucking basic ponytail look elegant.

“Do you think we smell like sex? Maybe we should shower first.”

I chuckle. “That’s my favorite scent, baby. Besides, we don’t have time. Athena is making dinner.”

She rolls her eyes.

“Fanfuckingtastic. We aren’t just going to talk with three men that hate me, but sitting through a meal with them as well. Oh, I know! Maybe she’ll hate me too, so there can be an extra person that wants me dead.”

I grab her hands and pull her with me.

“Let’s go, so you can see it’s not as bad as what you’ve built it up to be, inside that pretty head of yours,” I say, and really hope I’m not lying to her because, honestly, I don’t really know. Psycho won’t give a shit either way, and Kage will be his normal asshole self, but Bones is a wild card. If he thinks us being together is bad for business, or that she’s a threat in general, it may very well be an uphill climb .

We walk through the house and outside to my waiting Range Rover, and I pull her into my arms and kiss her on the forehead.

“I promise you, everything will be okay. I can’t tell you not to worry because you will anyway, but I swear to you, nothing bad will happen.”

She presses her face against my chest and whispers, “I love you.”

“I love you too, living dead girl. Let’s get this over with.”

Opening the door for her, she gets in, and I walk around to the driver’s side and get in. I know she’s concerned that something my brothers could say might change things between us, but it’s fucking impossible. Bones will probably be pissed about the bodies, but I don’t think he’d ever ask me to leave her, because while he’s an asshole, he wants me to be happy. Like Kage said, this is the most normal thing I’ve ever done.

As I drive, she sits staring out the window, and it’s like she isn’t even here.

Reaching down, I grab her leg, and she jumps.

“Goddamn it, Bella, stop. It’s going to be fine.”

“Sorry,” she says quietly.

Removing my hand from her leg, I let her be, because I know the only way to set her mind at ease is to simply do this, and be done with it.

Continuing to stare out the window, she speaks so softly I wonder if I’m even meant to hear it.

“Every boyfriend I’ve ever had leaves me, because I’m not good enough. Number two and three were because their families didn’t approve of me. What kind of a girl isn’t even liked by her own mother? If that isn’t a red flag, I don’t know what is. So I hear you when you say everything will be fine, but I know better. Tonight, your brothers will take you to the side, and tell you I’m not what you need, and maybe they’ll be right. Maybe I’ll get lucky and one of them will cut my heart out of my chest, so I don’t have to feel myself dying without you. ”

All the air leaves my lungs, as I pull the car over. My chest fucking aches. I’ve never spent the time to really find out what her life has been like, and this revelation fucking guts me. There’s more than one way to abuse a child, and suddenly I feel like she’s been through more than she let on. Maybe she didn’t get her ass fucked with a lead pipe, but she’s been hurt. Really fucking hurt.

“Get over here, Bella. Now.”

When she climbs onto my lap, I wrap my arms around her and hold her tight.

“Let me be really fucking clear with you, baby. Even if Bones told me to leave you, I wouldn’t. I’d much prefer to cut my own fucking heart out, than live a single day without you. We are intense, fucked up, and perfect together. I don’t want to have to make that choice, but if I’m put into that position, I’ll choose you. Every fucking time, you’ll be my choice. For me, you’re not only good enough, you’re more than enough.”

She clutches onto my shirt and sighs audibly.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m so fucked up.”

Running my fingers through her hair, I say, “You’re perfectly fucked up, baby. If anybody says you’re not what I need, they’re wrong. Just be yourself, and anybody that can’t handle it can fuck themselves. Maybe just don’t kill anyone tonight.”

With her head laying on my shoulder, she giggles, her breath washes over my neck, and of course, my cock gets hard, and she wiggles her sexy ass on my lap.

“Get back in your seat. I’ll fuck your ravenous pussy the second we get home.”

I’ve always heard it’s the man that wants to have sex the most, not women, but with her, I’m not sure that’s true. She makes comments about me killing her pussy, but she wants it as much as I do. It’s just one of many reasons this woman will be my wife.